Forty-seven years after he played his last game and two years and one day after he drew his last breath, Dick Allen is a Hall of Famer. Thirty-three years after his last game and 12 years after a tremor in his right hand eventually led to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, Dave Parker is a Hall of Famer.
Allen and Parker have a shared history, so it is right that they be enshrined together next summer. Both were among the best hitters of their generations who hit the ball so hard they were imposing threats in the batter’s box. Both became the highest paid players in baseball (Allen in 1973, Parker six years later). Both were managed at the top of their game by Chuck Tanner, a man who allowed them to flourish by treating them with respect when others did not. Both suffered open racial prejudices. Both endured waits for the Hall not much different than their careers: long and difficult.
